Mine-car running-gear.



J. L. MCDOWELL. MINE CAR RUNNING GEAR. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 5. 1917.

l 25 6 E. 8. Patened Feb. l2, 2.9M.

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arras naar ironia LEE MenownLn, ,or `nnnvvrox-1 nnnscsrnvanra, e-ssronon 'ro enmarcan can. .ann Fommnv COMPANY, oF NEW YORK, n, Y., n Conronarion or naw Jansen.

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Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Fain, 3,2, lllllii.,

lapplication filed September 5, 1917. Serial No. 189,860.

To all whom it may conce/m:

Be it known that I, JOHN LEE MCDOWELL, residing at Berwick, Columbia county, State of Pennsylvania, and being a citizen of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mine-Car Running-Gears, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limitedlto the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof within the scope of the claims will occur to 'persons skilled in the art'.

ln said drawings: Figure l illustrates one form of the outer end of my improved wheel and the means for attaching it to the axle;

Fig. 2 is a detailed sectional view of the lower part of the journal box of Fig. 3 and illustrates the sliding relation of the projection from the lubricant-retaining cap to the slo in the journalv box in which it slides; an

Fig. 3 is a. vertical section of my improved mine car running gear and illustrates. a modilied form of the outer end of the hub and the wheel attaching means.

An object of the invention is to provide a 'running gear assembly comprising a simple,

economical and durable wheel consisting of a minimum number of parts which may be readily secured in position upon an axle, retain v'a roller bearing assemblyV in position within a roller bearing chamber of the wheel, f

provide means for locking the roller bearing assembly in position within the wheel hub, which means presents a smooth, vertical face to the roller bearing assembly when the wheel is in operative position, and a smooth bearing surface at the rear side of the wheel hub to coperate with a journal boX secured to the car and adapted to coperate with friction-reducing means and lubricant-retaining means properly conjoined with the wheel, as hereinafter -more particularly described.

Another object is to provide means to permit the wheel hereinbefore referred to to adjust itself to inequalities of the track snru bearing assembly longitudinally within the face, which means may be employed with the track surface, thereby wheels of any type and for any service, but particularly in connection with mine cars, to

y which the invention especially relates.

A Afurther object of the invention is to provide lubricant-retaining means adapted to eoperate with a peculiar form of journal bearing box, which permits one or all of the wheels, independently or otherwise, to drop by gravity in passing over depressions in preventing :lerailment of the ears.

Referring particularly to the parts, A is the tread, B the spokes Aand C the hub of a mine car wheel which is provided with a i closed outer end wall D forming an extension of the hub, though cast integral therewith and being perforated at E, E, preferably by alined openings to permit insertion and removal of a eotter pin, as F, though it is evi-- dent that other means of securing the wheel in position may be substituted for the eotter pin, as for example the'bolt F which cooperates with an annular groove G cut in the outer end of the axle H instead of passing through a perforation in such axle,

as shown in Fig. l. In either case, however, it is preferred that the outer wall of the hub be provided with a screw-threaded orifice which' may be utilized for tem# porary connection therewith of a grease gun .or lubricant supplying tool from which lubricant may vbe injected into the lubricant .chamber J when desired, -and as a proper lubrication of mine 4car wheels is a very material factor, contributing' to the life of such wheels in service, it is advisable that, regardless of whether the Cotter pin F or bolt F is employed to lock the wheel in position on the axle, it will be convenient at all times to replenish the suppl'y of lubricant within the reservoir J without removing the wheel from the axle, and it is also advisable to form the outer end of the hub of the wheel closed that is, of a single wall cast with the major portion of the hub, as for example in Patent NQ. 321,590 of July?, 1885.

In the type of wheel shown in the drawing, iny which roller bearings ot the well known Hyatt type are illustrated, it is advisable to provide a vertical plane surface, to serve as an abutment for the outer end of the rollerxbearing assembly, which serves as a stop to prevent movement of such roller lil) wheel hub, and it is also important that there shall be no annular depressions, adjacent the ends of such roller bearing assemblies, into which the annular rings K of the roller bearin cages may drop, become locked and cause estruction of such assembly. To that end, and to provide a suitable wearing face for the rollers K, a high-carbon. steel sleeve L is inserted within the wheel hub, whic sleeve extends preferably into contact with the rear face of the wall M formed intermediate the ends of the hub; This wall may be formed, as shown in Fig. 1, dividing the lubricant chamber J of j nedetermined diameter from a smaller` roller bearing chamber K2, or the wall may consist of thev face M of Fig. 3, as may be desired, but in either instance the sleeve is positioned preferably so as to rest in approximate Contact with the rear face of such wall. The axle H may be formed fromI any suitable material, but it is preferred to use a heattreated axle where the hardened steel rollers Kare employed, though l do not wish to inner end of 'the wheel hub for retaining roller bearings in position, such as flanged collars secured within the roller bearing chamber of the hub and locked in position by means of rivets, or other fastening means,

projected through such fianged collars and the metal of the inner hub extension P, but these are objectionable because, first, of the multiplicity of parts and, second, the holes formed in the hub weaken the hub and there is always the possibility of cracking the hub while heading the rivets thus employed. To

overcome these objections and to strengthen the hub rather than to weaken it,the cap Q, is employed which cap comprises a cupd shaped member including the flange 1 extending longitudinally of the wheel hub and parallel with the axle and the flange -2 which extends inwardly from the `flange 1 and provides plane smooth vertical faces, one on its inner side and one upon its outer side, for the purposes herinafter referred to.

The cap Q is, as shown in the drawing, of considerable thickness and is a valuable adjunct in mine car service because of the fact that the fia-nge 1 projects for some distance outwardly from the outer face of the Vhub C and serves as a stop to prevent the passage of dust in between the wheel and theV jour nal box. It is well known that the ne dust, With which the air is impregnated in coal mines, drops by gravity upon the hub of the wheel. as ordinarily constructed, and unless some means is .provided to permit this to fall off during the rotation of the wheel it will find its way into the bearings, thereby leading to an early destruction of the wheel assembly, and while flange 1 of the cap serves as a reinforcing member for the inner end of the hub, it also serves as a means to retard and practically prevent the flow of dust from the normal face of the hub into the bearings, thereby prolonging the life of the wheel. The flange 2 extending inwardly, as shown, is provided on its inner side with a smooth vertical face 3Y against' which the end ring 4 of the roller bearing assembly may'travel4 without danger of disintegration of the roller bearing assembly. While the rear face 5 of the flange 2 is also a smooth plane. surface adapted, if desired, to contact with the outer face 6 of the journal box, it is preferred that a washer 7 contact with such face 5, which'washer is free to rotate upon the axle H and between the face 5 of the cap Q and the journal box, except in instances where an auxiliary cap R provided with a rearwardly extending lug S is used, as hereinafter explained.

vrl`he wheel hub is. cast generally as shown in the drawings with this difference, however, that when the hub is cast' the portion P is formed of greater thickness than is illustrated so as to provide such thickness of metal as will result in a casting of the proper degree of hardness, after which it is preferred that some of this metal shall be cut away, in a suitable machine, to reduce the external diameter of the extension P and form onits outer circumference a smooth surface upon which the cap Q may be shrunk in the position shown. This trimming or machining is done in the process of production after which the sleeve L is inserted, the roller bearing assembly is placed in the sleeve within the roller bearing chamber of the wheel, the cap Q is properly positioned while hot and in cooling it shrinks, upon the portion P of the hub. It is preferred that the internal diameter of the cap and the external diameter of the portion P of the wheel shall be so nearly uniform that a secure connection will be established between the hub and the cap due to the shrinkage of the latter. The outer portion of the wall 3 of the cap preferably rests in approximate contact with the rear edge portion P of the hub and outer end of the sleeve L, vVhen this is done it is obvious that the cap will be retained in position practically during' the life of the wheel and serve as means for reinforcing the inner portion of the hub, as an end wall to retain lubricant within the hub, to secure the rollerbearing assembly in position, and to provide a smooth frictionreducing wear plate between the hub and nasales portion P of the hub may be tapered with its lesser diameter nearer the center of the hub to additionally assist in holding the cap Q when it is shrunk thereon.

Coperating with the parts referred to, there is provided a washer 9 which is cast in position within the lubricant reservoir at the outer end of the hub and this washer 9 servesas a means for reducing friction between the cotter pin F and the wall Vll/I where a cotter pin is employed. v

.It is desirable that a sufficient quantity of lubricant shall be supplied to the wheel to lubricate not only the roller bearings, but also permit a ilow of a minimum quantity of such lubricant as may be entrained by the axle rearwardly or toward the car body and journal box. This lubricant nds its 'way along the axle in a suthcient quantity to prevent wear between the flange 2 of the cap and the washer 7.

In some instances it may be desirable to employ additional means to prevent the loss of lubricant at the inner end of the wheel hub, or.. to retard the egress of lubricant thereat,.and for that purpose the auxiliary cap R is vprovided, which cap may be used with any type of wheel hub, though preterably with the one illustratedin the drawings, and comprises the. pressed metal packing-retaining annulus 10 provided with an inturned ila'nge 11 and vertical rear wall l2 and within which is locked the packing l of hair felt or other suitable lubricantnbsorbing-and-retaining material.

i As it is preferred that the auxiliary cap i R shalllbe relatively fixed, that is that it shall not rotate with the wheel, it is provided with a rearwardly extending lug S which is seated in a slot T in the journal box U, which slot is open at its lower side, as shown, and the journal box is provided with a relatively elliptical opening for the axle ll, providing a clearance l5 between the bot tom of the axle and the upper tace l@ of the lower portion l? of the journal box. The object of this is to permit each wheel to drop independently of the others and below the normal plane .of the track to accommodate depressions or inequalities in the track surface.

lfllhat l claim is:

l. ln combination, an axle, a car wheel mounted thereon, and a journal box entered by said axle and provided 'with an axle-opening forming a clearance below said axle permitting the wheel and axle to l an open inner end, a journal box, a cap extending radially and longitudinally of said inner hub end and positioned between the an Ww latter and siidrjournall box, and an axle projecting through said journal box and cap to have a bearing in said hub, said journal box having axle clearance and guiding neans permitting said axle and hub to rop.

3. ln combination, a wheel hub having an open inner end, a cap telcscoped with that hub end and having a plane radial surface, a journal box provided with a plane surface parallel to'said cap plane surface, an axle in said journal box and hub, a washer loosely mounted on said axle between said plane surfaces, there being an elongated axle passage in said journal box affording; clearance to permit the axle to drop below its normal position therein.

Li. In combination, a wheel hub having an open inner end, a cap telescoped with that end, a journal box, said cap and journal box having parallel plane surfaces, an auxi1` iary cap between said plane surfaces into` which auxiliary cap the iirst cap projects,`

6. In combination, a wheel hub, a journal box provided with an axle passage and a slot, a lubricant-retaining cap between said hub and journal box and provided with a projection entering said journal box slot, and an axle passing through said journal Abox and cap and entering said hub, said axle and cap projection being slidable vertically of said journal box.

7 ln combination, a wheel hub with a chamber having an open inner end and an outwardly disposed wall containing an axle bore, a journal box havinga slot, a cap extending over the hub inner end and having a projection slidable in said slot, an axle vertically slidable in said journal box and extending beyond 'the outwardly disposed wall of said hub chamber, friction-reducing means in said chamber, and axle-carried means co-acting with said' wall to retain the parts in correlativo positions.

8. ln combination, a wheel hubi with a chamber open at the inner end ofsaid hub and outwardly terminated by a shoulderforming wall, a sleeve lining said chamber, an axle-bore-containing cap frictionally telescoped with the open end of said hub, a

ilo

journal box provided with a slot, e. lubr'iln Witness whereof I have hereunto set my cant-retaining cap interposed between the hand in the presence of two Witnesses.

first cap and said journal box and having an extension sldable in the journal boX slot, an .JOHN LEE MCDOWELL. axle vertically s'lidable n-said journal box and friction-reducing means between said Witnesses Sleeve and axle and opposed by the first oep lMARY E. BRUFF, and said shoulder-forming Wall. A Trios. B. HUYCm 

